FAITHXTRACTOR

Even the relentless death/thrash attack of his main gig, ESTUARY, wasn't enough to satisfy the voracious appetite that Cincinnati, OH's Ash Thomas has for metal. With a fire for Hell's favorite ballroom music still burning in his chest, Thomas enlisted the help of his younger brother, Marquis (the brothers had previously spent time together in THORNS OF CARRION and cult horrorpunk act THE VLADIMIRS) and formed FAITHXTRACTOR. After releasing a two-song demo in 2006 and a split CD with CRUCIFIED MORTALS earlier this year, FAITHXTRACTOR is unleashing thirteen tracks of anti-religious sentiment and an old-school savagery upon the world.

"Razing The World Of Myth" is largely a labor of the elder Thomas' love for bullshit-free, '80s/early '90s thrash and death metal. Handling vocal, bass, drums and a portion of the guitar duties (Marquis contributed guitars and backing vocals),the brothers Thomas have crafted an album's worth of tunes that represents a giant middle finger in the air to the over-polished, ProTools-friendly sounds heard in much of today's metal. Opening track "Faithxtractor" shows you right away what the band is all about; unabashed brutality. Said song, along with standout track "Bottom Feeder", see shades of thrash, as well as a fair amount of black metal-esque speed picking infused with Thomas' signature primal death metal style for some very brutal moments. While much of "Razing The World Myth" is of the up-tempo, straight-for-the-jugular ilk, the brothers do manage to change things up from time to time by throwing bits of plodding, doomy groove into the mix. Vocally, Ash delivers a fairly straight-forward, and often times legible death growl. The background vocals tend to be of a slightly higher register, yet ultimately there is little variation, save for the gutturally low growls on the brick-heavy closing track, "Archgoat (Murderer Of The Sun)".

"Razing The World Of Myth" is not the kind of heavy that you get by playing 10,000 notes of the minor scale in a flurry of technical precision, nor is it the kind born from detuned, three-chord riffs you steal from your favorite PANTERA song. This, and albums like it, is the end result of handing a guitar to someone who plays metal because he is metal. If you're looking for something that has bucked every single trend that has ever come along in metal, look no further than FAITHXTRACTOR.